Automatic self-setting animal trap



Patented Oct. 21, 1924.

UNITED STATES CHARLES J'ULIUS` SCHOENING, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC SELF-SETTING ANIMAL TRA?.

Application filed May 26, 1921.

T0. all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, @Hennes J. SCHOEN- ING, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and nseinl Improvementsl in. Antoniatic `Self-Setting Animal riiraps, of Which the following is a speciticationrl' This. invention relates to end. has foi' a main. object te Provision of en automatic self setting aniiiiel trap, which een be inn-nniactiired with facility and. with s ininiininn eiqiense, and adopted to instantly kill en animalv by crashing' its skull and throwing the animalV away from the trap thereafter'.

VA further object of the invention is to provide a trap of the character mentioned, in which one setting of the mechanism is Sudicient for causing numerous successive operations of the mechanism without attention, and in which the bait can not be removed from the trap by the animal.v

ther niinor and detailed objects of the invention Will appear as the description progresses.

Ij'have illustrated one practical embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved trap,` partly section- Fig. 2 is en elevation of the seine in e plane at right angles to Fig, l.-

A Fig. 3 is a planV view of the same.

F 4 is,` a section of the trap on line 4, i, ofnig. i.

Fig.. 5 is n Fig. dis a reduced elevation of the upper portion ot' the trap, showing a cable and section of the same on line 5,

Weight connected thereto.

While l have shown and will now describe but forni of my invention, it will be understood, that may modify and change the structure and operation thereof within the .scope of the appended eleiins, without departing from the spirit oi iny invention- The'devce shown in seid drawings, comprises tubular `sta iidaid l0 which is splitst a point inidway cfits ends, and hes .flattened side portions 11,11, fornied thereon 'het-Ween which opening is provided, and said standard iney be attached to or formed Vintegrally With a horizontal base portion 1l adapted to be supported on the ground or oonby ineens of Said base, and held thereon by .Ineens of screws 12, 12, ete.,

Serial No. 472,807.

which extend through suitable holes in the base, or nails may be used in lieu ot' said screws.

The lower portion of said standard, above the base 171 has an aperture 13 formed therein of suitable size and forni for permitting the entrance of an animals head therethrough. The standardv has circular openings 14A and 14 below and above the central openings 12, and a piece oic bait B of suitable character is adapted to be deposited in the lower end of the opening 14, below a tripping plate or trip 1 5 which is supported at one end 16 on the edge of the base 11 and extends through openings. 17 and 18 on opposite sides of the standard 10.

The tripping plate has a plurality ot' openings 17 on the interior of thev standard 10, above the bait B, so that an animal A may be enabled to see and scent the hait B therethrough when the head of the animal is inserted in the opening 13 of the standar-df The central portion of the standard 1() is provided between the flat sides 11, thereof, with a drum D which is mounted on and fixed to a shaft 18 journaled in the portions 11, 11. One end of said shaft is extended substantially beyond the standard 10, and has a driving arm 19 adapted to be fixed to said shaft for rotation therewith. Another arm 20, which is substantially longer than the arm 19, is loosely mounted on the shaft 18, adjacent the side 11 of the standard, and intermediate said arms I provide a spring 21 which is coiled around the hub of the arm 19 and hasl one end 22 thereof attached to the arm 19 and its other end ,23 attached to the arm 20. Said spring serves to resiliently connect the arms 19 and 20, and when the spring 21 is placed in tension by the adjustment of the arm 19, the spring serves to im, part force to the arm 20.

The upper end of arm 2O carries a ball 24 or' substantial size, and said ball may be suitably attached to the end of the sini 20, as shown, or otherwise, and is adapted to move in a path which will clear the'side or' die standard l0. A cable is eiieeiied et one end tothe drurn D and is wound for o vplurality of turns, erennd seid drinn, and

the outer end of said cable is adaptedlto be extended upwardly fora substantial distance and around a pulley 26, which may be suitably supported and carries a Weight 27 thereon, as shown in Fig. 6.

Transversely mounted in the iippei" end vof the plunger 28 of the standard 10 l provide a plunger 28 which is slidably heldin oppositely formed apertures in the wall ot the standard and is adapted to project substantially outwardly trom one side thereot into the path of the arm Q0, so as to prevent the movement oi said arm and the ball 24 when the spring 2l is in tension. A. tripping lever 29 is also mounted transversely in the upper portieri of the standard l0, and is pivotally held on a pin 30 on one side of the standard. Y

The lever 29 has an arm 3l which entends substantially outwardly from the opposite side of the standard l() through an opening 32, and a relatively right angular arm 33, integra-lA therewith, extends upwardly through a slot 34 formed in the plunger 28, as shown in Figs. l and 5. A spring 34 is mounted on the plunger 28 and is adapted to compress between the inner side of the wall ol' the standard l0, and the arm 33 of said lever, so as to normally hold the end 35 et the plunger outwardly as an obstruction to the movement ot the arm 20.

The outer end of arm 3l of the lever 29 connected with the extended end 236 ot' the trippingv plate l5 by means et a link 37, and it will be observed thatV when the animal trips the plate l5 by stepping thereon, or by touching the same in an attempt to get to the bait B, the plate l5 will be depressed and likewise the arm 3l ot lever 29 will be correspondingly depressed and moved about its ulcrum pin 30, while the arm 33 of ysaid lever will effect a retraction against the relatively light tension ot the spring 3s, so as to compress said spring and move the plunger inwardly and out of the path of the arm 20, Thus, when the plunger 28 is released theV arm 20 will move forcibly around the sha'tt i8 and when an animal has its head approximately in the position shown in Fig. l, the ball 2li ot the arm 2O will strike the ani mal at the side of the head, and the blow will ordinarily serve to kill the animal and throw the same some distance away trom the trap.

Now, in the meantime, when the arm 2O has passed the plunger 28, and the veight ot the animal is removed from the plate l5, the tension ot the spring 34; will rest-ore the plunger 2S into the path of the arm 20, so as to stop the movement oi said arm and the striking ball 2st, and thus set the trap tor a subsequent operation.

The cable 25 is wound by a plurality of turns around the drum D, and a weight 27 may be connected thereto, 'preferably held at a substantial distance above the ground orloor, so that a number ot operations may be accomplished with one setting of the trap. Pulley 26 may beheld on one or more brackets 26 attached to beams 25 oa barn or outbuilding, so that the weight will be at all times high enough to provide head room therebeneath, or said device ma)4 be attached to thc linib ol a tree or othci wise.

lllhen, however, the weight ai has de scended to its lowestposition, the trap ma)` be reset by withdrawing the plunger, turn-- ing the drum, and thereby rewinding thv cable 16 on said drum, until the weight has reached its highest position. observed that a uniform tension is mainN tained at all times by the provisiun of the weight 27, and that all iper-ations of flu` trap will thereby produce a uniform result in the torce of the blow, it being af all tiincs the same.

That l claim is:

l. An animal trap comprising a standard, a rotatable drum transversely journaled in said standard, an arm movably mounted on said standard in axial alinement therewith and resiliently connected with said drum, the lower port-ion ot said standard being adapted to receive and hold bait or the like, a trip mounted on said standard, means for torcibly rotating said drum tor operating said arm, a detent device extended into the path of said arm t'or preventing the movement thereof, and means connecting said detent device with said' trip for releasing said arm when said trip is sprung.

2. An animal trap comprising a standard, a rotatable drum transversely journaled in said standard, an arm mov'ably mounted on said standard in axial alincnient therewith and resiliently connected with said. drum, the lower portion ot said standard being adapted to receive and hold bait or the like, a trip mounted on said standard, means tor forcibly rotating said drum for operatingV said arm, detent device extended into the path of said arm tor preventing the movement thereof, and means connecting said detent de vice with said trip for releasing said arm when said trip is sprung, said detent device` including a spring held plunger normally held in the path ot said arm` and adapted to be restored when said trap is restored.

ein animal trap comprising a standard. a tripping plate on the base of said standard, a drum above said plate, a shaft fixed to the drum and journaled in said standard or rotatably supportingsaid drum, an arm fixed to said shaft, a striking arm loosely mounted on said shaft, a spring connecting said fixed and loose arms, a cable wound on said drum and having a weight on the end thereof: for eltecting the rotation of said drum, and said striking arm, and means connected with said tripping plate for releasing said striking 1 arm when the trap is sprung, for the purpose described. i

Ll. An animal trap comprising a supporting member, a tripping plate mounted at the base thereof, a drum transversely journaled lt will '.ilso'be thereon, a striking arm axially alined with said drum, a shaft for said drum and said arm, a spring on said shaft for resiliently connecting said drum and said arm, and means connected with said tripping plate for releasing safid arm whereby the same is moved into Contact with and for striking the head of an animal, as described.

5. An animal trap comprising a hollow standard, a transverse shaft ournaled in said standard at a point substantially above the bottom thereof, a drum Within said standard fixed to said shaft, 2v striking arm loosely mounted on said shaft externally of the standard, an arm fixed to said shaft and spaced from said striking arm, a spring carried on said shaft between and attached to said arms at its opposite ends for resiliently connecting the striking arm With the drum, means for holding said drum and said striking arm in tension, the transversely operable looking plunger normally engaging said striking arm, a tripping plate at the bottom of said standard and connected With said plunger whereby when said plunger is released said striking arm Will be forcibly projected against the head of an animal attacking the bait in said trap.

6. An animal trap comprising a hollen7 standard, a transverse shaft journaled in said standard at a point substantially above the bottom thereof, a drum within said standard iixed to said shaft, a striking arm loosely mounted on said shaft externally of the standard, an arm fixed to said shaft and spaced from said striking' arm, a spring earried on said shaft between and attached to said arms at its opposite ends for resiliently connecting the striking arm With the drum, means for holding said drum and said striking arm in tension, the transversely operable looking plunger normally engaging said striking arm, a tripping plate at the bottom of said standard and connected with said plunger7 whereby When said plunger is released said striking arm will be` forcibly projeeted against the head of an animal attaoking the bait in said trap, and a spring on said plunger for projecting the plunger into the path of said striking arm When pressure on the tripping plate is released.

- CHARLES J. SCHOENING. 1Witnesses LUTHER L. Maori, IRENE BREEN. 

